Following Football All Around The Globe

Football at the 1900, 1904 and 1906 Olympics

At the 1900 Olympics, a football contest was conducted for the first time in the Olympic history. The tournament was held in Paris, France from 20 October to 23 October where 35 competitors from 3 nations competed. The tournament was conducted only on two days; one for the gold medal and the second for the silver and bronze. The gold medal match was held between Great Britain and France, where the 500 spectators saw Britain with the gold medal. However, the second match featured the runner-up from the final match and Germany, where France won the silver medal and Germany the bronze.

The football tournament at the 1904 Olympics was held in Francis Field, United States from November 16 to November 23 where 36 players from 2 nations participated. The results of the tournament were Galt F.C from Canada winning the gold medal, Christian Brothers College from United States acquiring silver while St. Rose Parish of the United States being the bronze medals recipient.

The 1906 Olympics, known as the “Intercalated Games” hosted an unofficial football tournament in Athens, Greece. Only four teams participated in the contest, three of them being from Greece and the Ottoman Empire. The Athens team, to safeguard their dignity, withdrew from the finals at half time. To settle things down, a second-place match was held where the Athens team was invited but the team refused, which made a prompt ejection of Athens from the tournament. The medal summary of the contest has declared Denmark as the gold medalist, and Turkey as the recipient of both the silver and bronze medals.